Last month I was able to take an awesome Sawyer class for my Job at the state parks it was a great class and it taught me how stupid and luck I was in the past that nothing ever happened to me. The helmets we are given are old outdated not as convenient as the new ones that have hearing and eye protection already attached. We work in teams of two. I'm already hearing impaired three combat tours as a Marine machine gunner tends to be bad for hearing! I have a very difficult time hearing and always have to turn off the saw remove my hearing protection just to hear them. I have looked at several helmets the problem I keep seeing is that I can have Bluetooth and call someone as I'm cutting a tree but I can't find any that don't cost $300+ that would allow me to have two way communication with my other guy. If you have any recommendations I'm open to it I believe I'm going to have to buy a helmet and replace the ear muffs with ones that allow communication. So if there is a really good comfort helmet out there let me know. I'll pull the micro lattice pads from my HHV helmet and use them in the chainsaw helmet. I know I might have people who are like why spend your own money wait for the company to do it. Me it's my safety it's my life why would I wait for someone else to give me the gear I can afford to make sure I go home the same way I went to work! Your also and this is not a joke talking to the guy who invaded Iraq with a zip tie as my rear pin! I was issued it that way! Thanks! Also how well do the mesh mask work on the helmets?
Motorcycle Coms that work with helmets is the ONLY way to fly! They are hand free, voice operated, and the batteries will last a couple 12 hour shifts no problem, and with recharging options, it's really the only answer! When I was doing the Hot Shots thing, we all had hands free coms in our head gear, makes it much safer running large trucks and power tools like chain saws and all that, you can hop frequencies super easy, so you can work with multiple teams on the ground and in the trucks and even aircraft if and when needed! Motorola is what we had, not sure if anything has come along better since then, but that's where I would start!
I just run a sthil basic helmet. Orange helmet, suspension system, basic muffs with a black mesh screen. This one is about 5 years old and have only been bapped on the noggin once by a small branch that let go when i dropped a 60 foot maple. Screen works great especially when spending hours bucking firewood. Keeps a lot of sawdust off the face. No comms as who the hell am I going to talk to. And typically I'm off the saw every 10 minutes to move the wood so i can continue bucking.
Google some of them up,, I saw some from a hundred bucks on up ,, but I know you said you're working with a budget,, so I think you just need search thru them online ,, you could look at them and tell if they've got the features you're looking for,,, good luck,,
The other idea I had was not specifically for communication but just to let you hear better... I wonder if some of the electronic hearing protections are adjustable for noise level? I am referring to the type used at gun ranges, earmuffs. I don't think they are but might be worth looking into depending how good your hearing is...just an idea.
I run a saw a lot. In poking around I don't think you are going to be able to get anything like you describe without paying a lot of money. My preference wouldn't be to use something like that which might distract me with other people babbling on. I prefer to use the Surefire ear plugs. They allow me to hear normal conversations when the saw is off. I can close them off which greatly diminishes normal conversations. What you are describing wouldn't be of much use unless the others you are sawing with has them. If you bought an additional unit the other guys might not want to use them anyway. I know it's very dangerous out sawing logs and being able to hear is a benefit but with those saws are going. I can't hear much of anything but the saw. I am interested to see what others can come up with. EDIT: I prefer the Surefire plugs because they are dummy corded to each other and can hang them around my neck when I'm not wearing them. They are really comfortable and I forget I'm wearing them. Very easy to keep out of the way with a hat, helmet, goggles etc. They come in a small container with a short dog tag chain that I attach on my fuel/oil container so I don't forget them and look like some kind of idiot shoving whatever I can find into my ears.
